A Man's Revenge The END
by Sam Waterston Fan
Summary: Does Eric forgive Annie? Chapter 11 is up! Please Read and Review... COMPLETED!
1. Default Chapter

A/N: This story begins in late spring before summer starts in the 4th season...  
  
For those of you who don't like either or one of them, give this story a chance cause this story may surprise you.  
  
The kids helped with the twins even a year and a half after they were born when needed. Simon had started baseball for the community league which Eric and the kids would go to his games and really enjoyed them. Annie and Lucy would stay home since Lucy wanted to help with Sam and David even though all Lucy did was just play with them with their toys while Annie did housework. A month into playing the game Simon really did something for the team that made them excited.  
  
"Ya. Simon!! We win!!!" Simon's team mates shouted.  
  
Simon hit his home run and the fourth game winning home run. Simon and his team went to a pizza place to celebrate, with Simon's family and his teammates' families. Then they all went home, Simon took a shower then they all went to bed. The next morning Eric went to work and the kids went to school while Annie would take care of the twins then when lunch came Eric came to eat and help out then one day he came home early since he had no one to counsel which Annie liked because with Eric home she can take a nap or run errands. Friday that night, Lucy went to stay over at a friends to study for a history test that was on Monday, Mary also upstairs doing homework as well, Simon was helping Ruthie with her homework while the twins were in the room next to Simon's. Ruthie had the room that used to be Mary and Lucy's, Lucy and Mary were in the attic and Matt was in the apartment with John. Eric and Annie were watching TV when the phone rang then Eric left to go talk to a parishioner at the church. He came home around 10:45 pm to find Annie already in bed reading as he came in, she smiled at him and he smiled then got ready for bed. As he got into bed, he apologized for being late then Annie told him that she trusted him and was glad that the parishioner had someone to talk to. Annie finished the chapter then turned off the light on her head stand as did Eric on his then they cuddled in bed, Eric holding her as they fell asleep as the rest of the Camdens. Few days later Matt takes Simon to the banquet that they had for the baseball champions which Simon and his team was excited for. A few nights later Eric was on the couch watching TV as Annie was putting the twins down to sleep with Lucy's help, the phone rang as Eric got it.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hello there Reverend." A voice says.  
  
"Who is this?" Eric asked  
  
"You remember me? The man of the brother you put to death."  
  
"What? What are you talking about?" Eric asked again confused.  
  
"What do I mean? My brother was killed by the state because of your testimony."  
  
"What testimony? What are you talking about?" Eric asked again.  
  
"I know where you work."  
  
"What?" Eric asked again worriedly.  
  
"You will never see your kids again. Goodbye." The man says.  
  
Eric then calls Sgt. Michaels who then comes over a few minutes later with another officer which Eric tells Sgt. Michaels the call he had just got and he asks him what the guy was talking about. The kids were upstairs doing homework, Annie was in the living room and Eric had told her everything about the call before Michaels came.  
  
"Well Eric, what happened was that there was a reverend who had testified against the guy's brother and the guy was put to death. I guess the guy who called, got the wrong number because you have not testified against anyone. So what we will do is put a wiretap on your phone in case he calls again and tell your kids to be careful of who they talk to and what they say. Then we will have an officer listen in when someone calls."  
  
The kids were told to be careful and Matt would pick up Simon, Ruthie, Mary and Lucy from school. After a few days the police tracked down the number and arrested the man who was threatening the Camdens. A few days later after supper, Matt, Simon and Ruthie went to the ice cream Shoppe. As Simon and Ruthie walked to the car, Matt got knocked down by one guy and another guy grabbed Simon and Ruthie then put them in the car yelling and screaming for help as Simon held on the Ruthie. The guy who punched out Matt got to the drivers seat and the car sped off with Simon, and Ruthie. People outside the shop who saw what happened called 911 and went to check on Matt who was still out.  
  
"Sir? Can you hear me?" A female patron asked as she shook Matt.  
  
"The police and ambulance are on the way!!" Another patron who called 911 said.  
  
"Sir? Are you alright?" The lady asked Matt as he awoke.  
  
"Oh, no my brother and sister!! Where are they?!" Matt asked as he got up and looked around.  
  
"Two men kidnapped your brother and sister but one of them knocked you out." She said.  
  
"Oh no, I don't even know who they are!!" Matt says.  
  
"Don't worry everything will be fine, police are on the way.."  
  
A while later--  
  
"Matt!" Eric yells as he runs to his son. 


	2. Run to the border

To the reviewer who asked how this is humorous: Well there are a few funny things in this story but after thinking about it, it's really not funny other than that few things you may laugh about.  
  
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"Dad, Simon and Ruthie are gone and I-couldn't protect them." Matt says as he cries on Eric's shoulder.  
  
"It's okay, son. It isn't your fault." Eric says as he hugs his eldest son with tears in his eyes.  
  
"Dad, how did you get here?" Matt asks in tears.  
  
"Sgt. Michaels asked a police officer to get me when he realized you were here and in trouble."  
  
"But dad, how long have they been gone?"  
  
"About 20 minutes." An officer replies.  
  
"Do you need to talk to him?" Eric asks the officer as they are about to get into Matt's car.  
  
"Uh, not for now. But the witnesses have indicated that he didn't see the attackers."  
  
"Thanks." Eric says as he gets into Matt's car, Matt gets in the passenger side then they go home.  
  
When Matt and Eric comes in the door, Mary, Lucy and Annie rush to give Matt a hug and as they walk over to the family room, Matt sits down on the couch, Annie was next to him, Mary was sitting in the chair and Lucy was on the couch across from Matt and Annie. Eric was sitting next to Lucy consoling her as they all told Matt everything was going to be okay and it wasn't his fault.  
  
The doorbell rings, Annie gets it and Sgt. Michaels comes to the living room stands near Mary and Annie sat next to Matt.  
  
"I'm not sure how to say this but I don't believe the man we arrested the other day has anything to do with Ruthie and Simon's kidnapping." Sgt. Michaels says.  
  
"You don't?" Eric asks worriedly.  
  
"No, I think this was an isolated incident but I and my other officers will check out every possible trail."  
  
"Is there anything else about the kidnapping?" Eric asked.  
  
"We do have good descriptions of the attackers, the car and what the kids were wearing."  
  
"I know it's just-- my brother and sister--." Matt tries to talk but starts to cry as Eric hugs him as well as Annie.  
  
"I'll let you know if I know anything." Sgt. Michaels says.  
  
"Okay." Annie says as Sgt. Michaels walks out the door with Eric behind him.  
  
Meanwhile-  
  
"Let us go please." Simon says pleads as the men keep driving as Ruthie holds his arm.  
  
"Shut up." Jim, one of the men says.  
  
"Hey Jim, were almost in Orange County." Andy says as he is driving.  
  
"How much gas do we have left." Jim asks.  
  
"We got enough to get into San Diego but not enough to go down to the border."  
  
An hour later Jim stops at a gas station that has a bathroom for men and women. Simon goes in the ladies room with Ruthie because the men's room is occupied. There was a lady in the restroom, Simon asked her if he can use her lipstick which she gave him then she left. Simon went to one of the stalls that was empty, went to the bathroom then wrote on the door of the stall:  
  
Going to the Border.  
  
Two men kidnapped me and my sister from Glen Oak.  
  
Two men named Jim and Andy.  
  
Please help.  
  
Simon and Ruthie Camden.  
  
After he put the lipstick in his pocket, he and his sister left the bathroom then after getting back in the car since they couldn't escape because Jim was holding on to their arms.  
  
Jim and Andy drove off to a convenience store. While in the convenience store Simon who had $20 dollars in his pocket that he always had so he bought some soda and exlax. Jim saw Simon buying then decided to by some water and later told Simon that he had better not squealed but Simon told him he didn't then after an hour a police car was behind them without lights or sirens.  
  
"Speed up man there is a police car behind us." Jim says.  
  
"Does he have lights and sirens on?" Andy asks.  
  
"No but speed up."  
  
"Fine." Andy says as he speeds up then goes on to an onramp, the car doesn't follow.  
  
"So San Diego here we are." Andy says as the radio talks about the kidnapping of two kids possibly going to the border.  
  
"What the.."Jim says.  
  
"Fine, we are going to Arizona." Andy says.  
  
Ruthie is sleeping on Simon's lap then she was awaken by Simon when the men stop at a gas station then let Simon and Ruthie use the restroom then the men used it as well. Ruthie whispered to Simon that she was scared, he then put his arm around her and told her he would protect her.  
  
At the Camdens..  
  
"Mom, Mary and I don't want to go to school." Lucy said as morning came.  
  
"Well, that's fine cause you, and Mary will not go to school for the rest of the week." Eric said as Annie was just going to respond.  
  
"Dad, I'm really scared." Lucy says as she starts to cry.  
  
"It's okay Lucy. I will protect all of you." Eric says while hugging Lucy.  
  
Annie goes upstairs to see Matt who is talking to Mary.  
  
"I feel like this is all my fault."  
  
"Look, this is not your fault. They knocked you down and you just couldn't help them." Mary says trying to help her eldest brother cope.  
  
"I don't feel like a good brother, I just didn't do what big brothers are supposed to do, protect their siblings."  
  
"Matt, stop beating yourself over this. Do you remember when we were carjacked?" Annie said then asked.  
  
"Mom, of course I do." Matt asked.  
  
"It wasn't your fault then and it isn't your fault now." Annie says as she hugs Matt as Mary joins in the hug.  
  
A day after the kidnapping the Eric's parents, Charles and Ginger were at the house to be with the family and Eric was talking to Lucy because she had really as been upset, Mary was talking to the Colonel as Ruth was talking to Matt while Annie was taking a nap then she wakes up an hour later as the doorbell rings..  
  
"I'll get it." Matt says as he gets the door while Eric, Annie, Mary, Lucy, Eric's parents and Annie's dad approach from the kitchen.  
  
"Hello." Sgt. Michaels says as he walks in with another officer to the living room as everyone sits.  
  
"The Yuma police found the suspects' car that was used in the kidnapping of Simon and Ruthie. Unfortunately, the car was abandoned even though there have been sightings of the children and the men." 


	3. In Arizona

I changed my mind about the humor category for this story.. I don't want to use it. Sorry!!  
  
Hey, no one is perfect!! Microsoft Word doesn't do a good job of catching run-on sentences... any ideas?  
  
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"Oh no! No." Matt and Annie cry as the news sinks in while Eric, Lucy and Mary hug Matt and Annie.  
  
"Was there..never mind." The Colonel starts to say as he puts his arm around Ruth as tears start to well up.  
  
"There is no evidence of any blood in the car." The officer replies.  
  
"That's good right?" Mary asks as Ginger on the couch across from the couch that has Matt, Eric and Annie sitting on, consoles her.  
  
"Yes." The officer replies as Charles puts his arm around Lucy to console her.  
  
Twenty minutes after stealing another car and arriving in Phoenix the men, Ruthie and Simon went to a rest stop where they went to use the restroom then they went to Taco Bell. During the drive they asked Simon to put sauce in the food and hand them to them and the drinks.  
  
"Oh man that tastes so good!!" Andy says.  
  
"I know I love tacos." Jim says as Simon snickers quietly.  
  
"Especially when there is tons of hot sauce."  
  
The men eat and drink.  
  
"What about me and Ruthie?"  
  
"Who cares about you both?" Jim says.  
  
"Then why did you take us?"  
  
"Because of that Reverend Jackson." Andy says.  
  
"Reverend Jackson?"  
  
"Yes, he put my brother to death." Jim says.  
  
"Reverend Jackson doesn't have a wife or kids. Besides he died a few months ago."  
  
"What?" Andy asks.  
  
"Where have you been?" Simon asks.  
  
"Oh great, you better not be lying kid!!" Andy says.  
  
The men realized the goofed then kept driving as Jim was starting to feel the effects of the hot taco sauce he had Simon put in, they drove to a restaurant that was not far from the hotel where two presidential candidates, one that same night, the other the night after would speak from. The restaurant was closed for business so they went to a gas station and the door was locked. Andy ran into the store to get a key, then he got it and they both went in as that was going on Simon then put more ex-lax in their tacos and soda. Then he saw a 10-dollar bill on the seat and took it then made a dash for a hotel where one very important speaker is going to speak in a few hours. After hiding behind the car that Simon and Ruthie was near, they noticed the kidnappers with wet pants and bulky pants got in the car and left so after it was clear, Simon and Ruthie went to Burger King to eat then they later went to the hotel. The man who will the speaking and his wife put their luggage in the room, use the restroom, then talk about the speech he will make.  
  
"So, dear what do you think so far?" The man asks.  
  
"I think it's wonderful and everyone will love it. Do you want to eat first or after the speech?"  
  
"I think after since I'm not hungry yet, what about you?" He asks.  
  
"I think I can wait as well."  
  
"Okay darling." He says as they both kiss then leave so he can make his speech.  
  
Simon and Ruthie who saw them go in, wait while hiding at the corner of the wall then Simon told Ruthie to wait then as they saw the man and his wife leave, Simon runs quietly to the room then goes in waits a few moments then opens it to see Ruthie and waives her to him as they both go in, Ruthie goes to use the bathroom and Simon turns on the TV as he waits to go as well. After Simon went to the bathroom, he and Ruthie talk.  
  
"Simon what are we going to do?"  
  
"Well, we are in Phoenix Arizona right?" Simon asks.  
  
"Yea."  
  
"So after we finish I call Grandpa and ask him to pick us up and send us home." Simon says.  
  
"Great!!"  
  
Simon then tries to call but the phone recording kept saying there needed to be a credit card number so Simon hung up as Ruthie watched the door open, voices get louder as she and Simon hide under the bed.  
  
Back in Glen Oak...  
  
Sgt. Michaels was speaking to the Camdens  
  
"The Phoenix Police Department have caught the suspected kidnappers who confessed to taking Simon and Ruthie but they claim that Simon and Ruthie were gone after they had used the bathroom at a gas station. They also said that the tacos they ate made them go to the bathroom a lot so the police department had tested their food and drink and it was laced with exlax. Apparently Simon had bought some exlax and laced their food and made their escape when the men were using the restroom." Sgt. Michaels said.  
  
"Alright Simon!!" Colonel said as everyone laughed.  
  
"Wait a minute, wait a minute. Did you say the Phoenix Police Department where they arrested the men and where the kids disappeared?" Charles asked.  
  
"Yes I did say Phoenix and the men are in custody. Why?" Sgt. Michaels said then asked.  
  
"Annie can I use your phone?" Charles asked.  
  
"Sure." Annie replied.  
  
"Wait a minute, I just thought of something." Mary said when Charles was on the phone.  
  
"What did you think of?"  
  
"Hey yea, Mary's right. Sgt Michaels said the Phoenix Police Department arrested the men, the men also said that Simon and Ruthie disappeared in the Phoenix area. Get it? Phoenix." Lucy said.  
  
"Oh I get it, since grandpa and I are here Simon won't even---." Ginger said.  
  
"Can we get your address so I can call the Phoenix police department in case Simon decides to go over to you and Mr. Jackson." Sgt. Michaels says as he realizes what Charles was saying and Charles then sits back where he was.  
  
"Anything dad?" Annie asks.  
  
"No, Joan who is watching the house said that she will keep an eye out and Simon or Ruthie haven't been by or called." Charles says.  
  
"Mr. Jackson, I have asked your wife to give me your address so I can call the Phoenix P.D. so they can wait by your house in case Simon comes by."  
  
"May I use your phone, Annie."  
  
"Sure." 


	4. Going home

Twenty minutes later, the Camdens were watching TV and saw the speech then ate. But no one could really eat as the speaker thanked his supporters. He and his wife went back to his room where Simon and Ruthie had fallen asleep on the bed with the TV on.  
  
"You did a real good job, George." Ari, George's friend said.  
  
"Thanks. Now I'd like to have some Italian, what do you think dear."  
  
"Yes, I would love some Italian. Did you leave the TV on?" His wife said as Ari goes to his room and the couple go in their room.  
  
"No." Laura, his wife, replied.  
  
"Whoa. What do we have here?" George says as he sees two kids on the bed asleep then a few minutes later another second most important man comes in.  
  
"Hi, what's going on here?" The second most important man in the country asks as his wife gasps to see two kids sleeping.  
  
"What are you doing here? I just came in from my speech and just saw the two kids." Presidential Candidate George W. Bush asks then says.  
  
"What do we do?" Laura asks while she, her husband, and the Gores stand near the foot of the bed.  
  
"I don't know." George says as Simon and Ruthie awaken.  
  
"Hi." The Vice-President of the United States says.  
  
"Hi." Laura says.  
  
"Hi." Simon and Ruthie reply at the same time.  
  
"This is my husband George Bush, I'm Laura."  
  
"I'm Al and this is my wife Tipper." Vice President Gore says.  
  
"Simon, this is the President, first lady, and two people I don't even recognize." Ruthie says as the Bushes and Gores giggle.  
  
"No it's not, Clinton is the President, the guy with black hair is Vice President Gore, lady with blond hair is his wife."  
  
"Well actually I'm running for President and so is Vice President Gore." Mr. Bush replies as he giggles a little.  
  
"Cool. Can you take us home?" Ruthie says.  
  
"Ruthie! You don't ask people especially strangers." Simon says sternly then she replies.  
  
"He's not a stranger, he is going to be President."  
  
"Ruthie!" Simon says as Laura and George give a giggle as well as the Gores.  
  
"Say why do I think I've seen you two before on TV?" George says as he and Laura sit on the bed across from the Camdens as do the Gores.  
  
"Well, you see sir, uh my sister, Ruthie and I were kidnapped from Glen Oak and we escaped."  
  
"Glen Oak California?" Mr. Gore asks as someone knocks and Tipper gets the door.  
  
"Yes and um can you take us home?" Simon asks.  
  
"Simon! I thought you said we don't talk to strangers."  
  
"Well, talk to dad about it when we get home, he'll explain it." Simon says.  
  
"Are we ready? What's going on?" Todd, who is the head of the secret service asks as he sees the Camden kids.  
  
"Well, these two are the kids who were kidnapped." George says as he and Laura talk while Todd talks to them.  
  
"I was thinking, why don't me, my wife, and you two go to Carl's Jr. then we will take you home?"  
  
"Cool! Okay." Ruthie and Simon says.  
  
After the police were notified, the Camden kids and the Bushes went to eat then they flew to Glen Oak to have the kids reunited with their family. The Camdens were alerted and went to the airport to pick them up. Annie, Eric, Mary, Lucy, Matt and the grandparents saw them and gave them a big hug and kisses.  
  
"Oh, Thank you so much sir." Annie says as she hugs and kisses Ruthie and Simon as well as the rest of the gang.  
  
"Thank you. I don't know how to thank you enough." Eric says to the Bushes.  
  
"No problem. Just wanted to help out." George says.  
  
"Your children are so sweet and funny." Laura says.  
  
"Thank you." Annie says.  
  
A few minutes later the Bushes leave for Sacramento to stay at a hotel since he was going to speak the next day. The family comes home and talk to Simon and Ruthie about what happened then later that night they go to bed.  
  
"Hey, I'm going to sleep with you guys, okay." Matt says.  
  
"Okay, but where are you going to sleep?" Ruthie asks.  
  
"On the floor between you two.  
  
"Good night." Simon says as well as Ruthie. 


	5. What's with Annie?

On a beautiful Monday morning Annie woke up but didn't want to get out of bed but Eric wasn't in bed so Annie just got out to get the twins ready. She went to the twins room to find they weren't in bed so she went downstairs to find Eric playing with the twins.  
  
"Hi Honey." Annie says.  
  
"Hey, how did you sleep?"  
  
"Good, I just wish you would have woken me up." Annie says.  
  
"You were just so cute sleeping I didn't want to."  
  
"Are the kids in school?" Annie asked.  
  
"Yep, dropped them all off and came back to feed the twins."  
  
"Are you going to work?" Annie asks.  
  
"Yea, I didn't want to leave my boys all by themselves."  
  
"That's why you should have woken me up, even if I look cute sleeping." Annie says as Eric puts the boys in the crib.  
  
"You're right. I'll see you at lunch."  
  
"Okay, I love you." Annie says.  
  
"I love you too bye." Eric says as he kisses Annie, says goodbye to his twin boys and leaves.  
  
A few hours later Eric goes home for lunch to have a sandwich Annie made while she fed the twins lunch. Eric left for work a half hour later then after school he went to pick up his kids and took them home. The next day Annie took Sam and David for a doctor's appointment while everyone was at school and Eric at work. Few hours after Annie got home, Eric and the kids came home. While Eric was playing in the living room with Sam and David he was told they were doing great while the kids did their homework. Sam is playing with David on the floor with Eric sitting next to them and Annie goes to the kitchen to make dinner.  
  
"Where is Sammy? Where is Sammy? Where is David? Where is David? Here I am, Here I am." Eric sings a song while taking the blanket off of David and Sam, "I hate this game, daddy. I hate this game daddy, okay no more. I'll just let you two crawl on me." Eric said as David and Sam look at him with a disgusted look on their faces as he sings the song.  
  
David and Sam crawled on Eric for a few minutes then they went upstairs to change Sam and David's diaper. After Eric finished changing Sam he put Sam in the crib as well as David. He told Simon if he could watch the twins for a couple of minutes which Simon told Eric he would watch the twins by leaving the sliding doors open. Eric went to his bathroom and came back to the twins' room about five minutes later.  
  
"So what have you been up to?" Eric asks Simon as he holds Sam on his lap while Simon stands in the doorway.  
  
"Nothing just doing homework and getting ready for a project that is due in two weeks."  
  
"Do you know what the project is about?" Eric asked.  
  
"It is in my history class and it's about important people of our time."  
  
"Does it have to be anybody who committed themselves to making the country a better place?" Eric asked.  
  
"Dad, there are a lot of good people who committed themselves, even one of them got himself killed for it."  
  
"True, how about George Washington? Abraham Lincoln, or Rosa Parks?"  
  
"Yeah but I think that Abraham Lincoln made the hardest commitment to keeping the country together in that four year Civil War." Simon says.  
  
"Tell you what, when you get the assignment make sure you understand it, if not ask the teacher and I'll see what I can do to help you. But you will have to do it yourself."  
  
"Okay dad. Thanks."  
  
"Anytime." Eric says as Annie comes up to tell him that dinner is ready.  
  
Annie picks up David as Simon tells everyone else dinner is ready while both Annie and Eric walk downstairs with Sam and David in their arms. During dinner Annie tells Ruthie that she can spend the night at Katie's house which Ruthie was excited as Annie gives David his food.  
  
"Mom, there is a charity ball on Friday and Lucy and I want to go."  
  
"What is the charity ball for?" Annie asks.  
  
"It's to pay for the medical expenses and funeral costs of one of the students whose father was killed when they both got into an accident by a drunk driver a week ago."  
  
"It only cost five dollars per person and if this is a success the school might hold a basketball charity if all the medical expenses aren't enough." Lucy says.  
  
"Good idea. I think the community should come in support as well." Eric says.  
  
"You don't need a date?" Simon asks.  
  
"No, we are just going to dance and most of our friends don't have dates." Mary replies.  
  
"Where is the charity going to be held?" Eric asked.  
  
"At the school gym where there will be teachers and parents."  
  
"You two can go to the dance." Annie says as Eric agrees.  
  
"Thank you mom, dad." Mary says as Lucy thanks them as well.  
  
After dinner Mary and Lucy cleaned the tables as Simon and Eric did the dishes. Annie played with David and Sam in the living room with Ruthie. After the dishes were done the girls and Simon went to their rooms as Eric and Annie play with Sam and David.  
  
The next morning everyone gets up, eats breakfast then heads to school and Eric kisses Annie goodbye to go to work. While the twins are playing in their playpen, the phone rings, Annie sits on the couch and picks it up.  
  
"Hello?" 


	6. The call

I don't mind constructive criticisms but if it is flaming, I will ignore it. I've always been nice about giving constructive criticism about other people's stories and I hope they do the same for me.  
  


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"Hello? Is Annie Camden there?" The caller asks.  
  
"Yes, may I ask who is calling?" Annie asks.  
  
"Yes, I'm Juliana Diaz we used to go to high school in Phoenix."  
  
"Oh, Hi Juliana!! I didn't recognize you." Annie says.  
  
"Hi, Annie. How are you doing?"  
  
"Great. How are you doing?" Annie asks then responds, "Good, what have you been up to lately?"  
  
"Well, I am visiting GlenOak and need to talk to you which is important."  
  
"Sure, when are you leaving?" Annie asks.  
  
"Sunday night. Can we meet tonight?"  
  
"Sure let me call you back after I check with my husband to make sure he will be home." Annie responds.  
  
"Okay, here is my number at the hotel."  
  
Annie then hangs up after given the number, calls Eric to find out that he can watch the kids then she calls her friend back and tells her she can come to meet her at the pool hall. Later that evening, Annie told the kids she is going out to see a friend and gave Eric the number where she will be. After she left, Eric and the kids as well as Matt went to the Dairy Shack to have some burger and fries then came home, Matt went to his apartment. Lucy and Mary were doing their homework while Ruthie colored in her room, the twins were in their play pen in the living room while Eric looked over Simon's assignment about the act committing themselves to keeping the country together.  
  
"Do you understand everything?" Eric asks.  
  
"I think so. Mr. Diamond said that I should just state the facts of what he did and talk about how this country would have been if it hadn't been for him." Simon says.  
  
"It is almost like reporting."  
  
"Opinionated means telling the reader how I feel right?" Simon asks.  
  
"Right."  
  
"He gave me a list of books on Abraham Lincoln at the library."  
  
"Well, when will you get started?" Eric asks.  
  
"I want to get more information on him and books."  
  
"Let me know if you need help." Eric says.  
  
"Okay dad." Simon says as he heads upstairs to his room.  
  
Eric then picks up Sam and David from their playpen and let them crawl all over him until the twins needed to go to bed. Eric got the twins asleep with Lucy's help then twenty minutes later Annie got home. The kids were asleep when she got home, she ran to her room and closed the door. Eric then went in, closed the door then tried to console Annie but she pushed him back.  
  
"Annie, are you alright?" Eric asks worriedly.  
  
"I'm fine, I just don't want to talk to you right now."  
  
"What is wrong?" Eric asks.  
  
"No, I just don't want to talk. I just want to go to sleep."  
  
"Honey, how do you want me to help you if you are so upset and you won't tell me?" Eric asks.  
  
"I just want to go to sleep okay?"  
  
"Okay, but I still love you." Eric says as Annie brushes her teeth as he sits on her side of the bed then goes to the bathroom to brush his teeth says as she put her pajamas on and went to sleep with her light off on the night stand.  
  
Eric made sure all the doors were locked downstairs then got in his room to put his pajamas on, brushed his teeth in the bathroom then got in bed. He turned off the light on his night stand and when he was sleeping he held on to Annie to console her. During the night Eric had woken up when he put his arm on Annie's side of the bed but it fell. Eric then looked in the twins' room, Ruthie's, Simon's, the girls' room then the den, as well as everywhere else.  
  
"Annie?"  
  
"I'll call you back tomorrow dad, bye." Annie said on the phone with Charles when she heard Eric call her.  
  
"Annie? what are you doing here?" Eric asks.  
  
"Oh, nothing just thinking."  
  
"In the garage?" Eric asks.  
  
"Yes, I just needed a place to think." Annie says  
  
"What? With the phone?" Eric asks as he sees Annie hide the phone.  
  
"Yes, it makes me feel better."  
  
"Honey is there something going on that I should know about?" Eric asks.  
  
"No. Let's go to bed." Annie says as she and Eric leave for their room.  
  
"Well, Okay. But I want to know what is going on." Eric says.  
  
"Don't worry honey, I can handle it."  
  
"Let me know if you can't and you need me." Eric says as he kisses Annie and they both fall asleep minutes later.  
  
The next morning Annie gets up to make breakfast for the kids as well as Eric then after everyone leaves Annie calls Charles while the twins are playing in their playpen. Meanwhile Lucy, Mary and their schoolmates get ready for the charity ball that they hoped would raise lots of money to help foot the bill for the medical and funeral costs. Simon gets more books and articles on Abraham Lincoln and feels he is ready to start as Ruthie does her homework and getting excited to sleep over on Friday night. While at work Eric starts thinking about what is going on with Annie so just as he is about to call Charles the phone rings. He calls Charles after finished with the call but later hangs up since he wasn't home and leaves for the poll hall. Later that night while Annie was out with Patricia, he called Charles but was unable to get a hold of him since he wasn't home. After Eric hung up, he went upstairs after Simon called him for help with the report on the achievements of Abraham Lincoln, Simon thanked his dad. After 20 minutes Eric hears Annie come home then goes downstairs to ask Annie if he could help with anything. Annie tells Eric that she doesn't need help but wants him to play with the twins until dinner was ready. The next morning the kids get to school as Eric gets to work and Annie does some cleaning while Matt is in school. 


	7. Ruthie's scared

My story, 'Bad Summer' is finished for those of you who want to know how Charles got his farewell that he SHOULD have deserved. You may have to click on my username to get to the story.  
  
---------------------------------------  
  
While the kids are at school, Eric calls Charles.  
  
"Hi Charles how are you?" Eric says hi then asks.  
  
"Good, how are you doing since your heart attack?"  
  
"Good, I just have to stay on a low fat diet and exercise." Eric says.  
  
"Okay. So how can I help you?" Charles asks.  
  
"I want to know if you know what is going on with Annie." Eric asks.  
  
"I don't know, what is going on with her?"  
  
"I don't know she's acting emotional and I'm worried about her." Eric says.  
  
"I'm sure that she's just tired, I don't know."  
  
"Charles, if you find out please let me know. I'll talk to you another time, some people I am going to counsel just came in." Eric says.  
  
"Will do." Charles says then hangs up.  
  
A few hours later Eric picks up the kids takes them home to help Simon with his report which is going well. Eric then drops off Ruthie at her friends', while Mary and Lucy are at the charity ball where lots of students have turned out for games and dancing. Annie had put David and Sam down to bed then went to her room to call Charles but he wasn't home. Annie went to her bathroom to take a bath, after she was done she dried off and went downstairs to get milk after she put her pajamas on. Mary and Lucy came through the back door when she was cleaning her cup and they talked about the charity ball.  
  
"Hi girls."  
  
"Hi mom." Mary replies as Lucy gets a soft drink from the refrigerator as they talk in the kitchen.  
  
"So how was the charity ball?"  
  
"It went great!!" Mary replied with glee.  
  
"Ya, we raised a lot of money and hopefully more than enough. We will find out tomorrow how much we raised." Lucy replies.  
  
"That's great."  
  
"But we may have to do it again because the student is still in the hospital and still critical." Mary replies.  
  
"What did you guys do at the dance?"  
  
"We just played games, played karaoke and danced." Lucy replies.  
  
"I think everyone including the teachers had a great time." Mary replies.  
  
The girls then go upstairs to their rooms. Annie puts her glass in the dishwasher then heads upstairs when the phone rings and she picks it up and starts talking in the kitchen.  
  
"Hi dad. How are you?"  
  
"I'm doing great Annie, how are you doing?"  
  
"Okay dad. I'm worried." Annie says.  
  
"Yeah. So am I and you got Eric worried too."  
  
"He called you?" Annie asked.  
  
"Yes, he is worried about you honey."  
  
"I know. I just can't tell him." Annie says then she and Charles talked then hung up a few minutes later.  
  
Annie then goes to the living room to watch TV then falls asleep then the phone rings, Eric picks it up then hangs up minutes to leave for Katie's house in a big rush. Five minutes later Simon who saw Ruthie walk towards the bathroom walks to his door then sees Ruthie come out then stops her.  
  
"Ruthie? What are you doing here?"  
  
"Nothing, I don't want to go back."  
  
"Why?" Simon asks as Lucy comes out of her room to get a glass of milk then walks towards Simon and Ruthie.  
  
"What's going on? Why aren't you at Katie's?" Lucy asks.  
  
"I just wanted to come home." Ruthie says in tears.  
  
"Ruthie, you have to tell us what's wrong or we can't help you." Lucy says.  
  
"Who dropped you off?"  
  
"I just ran home."  
  
"You ran? Ruthie—oh no I got to call dad. He is looking for you." Simon says.  
  
Lucy and Ruthie go into Ruthie's room and talk. Simon pages Eric who pages him back then minutes later he is home.  
  
"Oh, honey!! I'm so glad you are alright." Eric says as he hugs her on the bed.  
  
"Dad, Ruthie won't tell me what is wrong."  
  
"Oh don't worry Luce, I know what is wrong."  
  
"Oh I just remembered, I need to call Jackie." Lucy says as she leaves.  
  
"Ruthie, did Jack scare you when he came over and raise heck?" Eric asks as he sits next to Ruthie.  
  
"Yeah, he was really mad and I got scared."  
  
"It's okay honey, he didn't know you were there." Eric says.  
  
"Why was he so mad?"  
  
"Oh, it was just something that was silly." Eric says as Ruthie lays on the bed.  
  
"Do you want to go back?" Eric asks then looks towards her face and sees she has fallen asleep.  
  
"I guess we will talk about this in the morning. Good night sweetie." Eric replies as he puts Ruthie in her covers, turns off the light then closes the door.  
  
Eric calls Katie's dad from his bedroom to tell him that Ruthie is safe and asleep. Eric then walks downstairs to the kitchen when Annie walks in from the living room.  
  
"What is going on?" Annie asks in irritation  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"You know what I mean." She says in slight anger.  
  
"No, I'm afraid I don't." Eric says  
  
"Ruthie. What is going on with her?"  
  
"Well a family friend came over raising heck about something silly and scared Ruthie so she ran home and is now asleep."  
  
A few minutes later, Simon, Lucy and Mary say goodnight to their parents then go to bed. Annie then goes to bed a few minutes later but Eric decided to watch TV then falls a sleep 20 minutes later. During the night Annie puts her arm towards Eric but it falls and she wakes up to find him not there. She goes downstairs to find him asleep with the TV on then turns it off and taps on Eric so he can get up and she can help him to bed. They both fall asleep minutes later as Annie has her arm around Eric. 


	8. Derrick

The next morning everyone slept in then got dressed then breakfast was made. After the dishes were cleared and breakfast was done Mary went to her friends house, Lucy helped Simon with his report which is due on Friday. Eric and Ruthie went to drive around as Annie was playing with the twins when the phone rang.  
  
"Dad, where are we going?" Ruthie asks.  
  
"We are going to Katie's house."  
  
"What? I-I-I don't want to go." Ruthie says in worry.  
  
"It's going to be okay, honey. It was just one night."  
  
"I don't care. I'm still scared." Ruthie says.  
  
"Oh I know but there is nothing to be scared of, Jack needed to talk to Darren about some problem he has so they were going to be at the pool hall the night you came and Darren left a message with one of Jack's co-workers on Thursday and she never gave him that message."  
  
"Why?" Ruthie asks.  
  
"Don't know, something probably just came up and she forgot. Remember when you and Simon felt guilty about not telling mom and me about Mary's 'extreme plan'?"  
  
"Yeah." Ruthie says.  
  
"You were going to tell us but Matt just came at that time and you couldn't tell us. It wasn't your fault or Simon's."  
  
"You're right." Ruthie says.  
  
"Of course. You ready?" Eric asks as he parks the car in front of Katie's house.  
  
"Yeah." Ruthie says as she and Eric get out of the car and into Katie's house.  
  
Mary and her friend Diane, went the mall to check out clothes but didn't buy any since they wanted to save their allowance money to buy Christmas gifts. After a few hours they went to the pool hall to eat then went home. Simon had a better of how great Abraham Lincoln was and what the country would have been like if he wasn't around after finishing the report.  
  
"This country would have been divided if it wasn't for Abraham Lincoln with the country split in to from Washington D.C. to possibly what is now San Francisco, California. One part, the northern part could be doing well economically with no slaves, but the south could be doing bad and may still have slaves to this day if Mr. Lincoln didn't try to bring both sides together. He may have made this country better if he had survived the assassination which happened after the South surrendered." Simon reads the last part of his report, then asks, "What do you think?"  
  
"Pretty good. I like it." Lucy says.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"Need anymore help?" Lucy says.  
  
"No, I got it, Thanks."  
  
"Let dad read it and see what he says."  
  
"Okay Lucy."  
  
Lucy leaves the room to enter her room to call Shelby to see what she is doing tonight while Mary was writing. Eric and Ruthie came home from talking to one of Katie's dad's co-workers. Ruthie went upstairs to color as Annie told Eric that she and Patricia are going to out with her friends to the pool hall and might be home late. Eric says okay and asks if he can order pizza for kids which Annie says yes. After Patricia picks up Annie, dinner arrives and the kids as well as Eric eat while he gives the twins their baby food. After dinner Eric looks at Simon's report as Mary and Lucy were giving the twins a bath as Ruthie was coloring. Eric tells Simon that he liked the report and he did a great job. Simon then leaves for his room as the phone rings as Eric picks it up. Eric tells the kids he needed to go out for awhile and page him or call Matt or Annie if there are any problems since he needed to counsel someone. Mary and Lucy were playing with the twins after giving them a bath when they were told Eric had to leave. An hour later Ruthie, Simon and Lucy go to bed as Mary waited up for Eric to tell him nothing happened. Then after Eric got home they both went to bed, she went to her room, he went to his to get ready. An hour after Eric comes home, Annie comes home she goes to bed. Eric got up when he heard the twins were fussing and went to tend to them which they needed to be changed then Eric went back to bed. Few hours later—  
  
"Hey Annie, you better watch out for that Derrick guy. He is not a nice guy."  
  
"I've heard about him. What should I do if he approaches me?" Annie asks.  
  
"Tell him you have a boyfriend."  
  
"Yeah but I do. He's in Buffalo, New York." Annie says.  
  
"Yeah, but he doesn't know that."  
  
"Does anyone know what happened to Tracy?" Annie asks.  
  
"Everyone thinks she was killed by Derrick."  
  
"Oh, how horrible." Annie says.  
  
"Have you called your boyfriend, Eric yet?"  
  
"No, I'm not going to tell him about this." Annie says.  
  
"Why? You should tell him cause what if you marry him and this creep if he is ever caught escapes when you are married to Eric.?"  
  
"I don't know but how do you know I'm going to marry Eric?" Annie says.  
  
"Come on Annie!! I can see it in your eyes."  
  
Later that evening--  
  
"Hello there baby cakes!!" Derrick says as he corners Annie at the college dorm.  
  
"Hi. I'm going home."  
  
"No you're not. You're mine!!" Derrick says as he grabs Annie and puts her in his dorm room which wasn't far from hers.  
  
"NO!! NO!! Stop!! You are hurting me! No! Stop it!! Someone help!!" Annie cries. 


	9. Derrick is here!

"Annie wake up! You are having a nightmare." Eric shakes her as she screams and holds him while he holds her.  
  
"What? What happened?" Annie wakes up in Eric's arms.  
  
"You were having a nightmare."  
  
"Oh." Annie says as she sighs in Eric's arms as she holds him.  
  
there was a knock at their bedroom door and Eric said "Come in."  
  
There was a knock at their bedroom door and Eric said "Come in."  
  
"Mom, are you alright?" Mary asks. Lucy, Simon and Ruthie were trailing behind her to see what was wrong.  
  
"Yeah, I just had a nightmare. Just go on to bed."  
  
"Okay." Mary says, then turns when she hears the twins crying. "Come on, Lucy, let's go take care of our brothers. Simon and Ruthie went back to bed and once the twins were back to sleep Mary and Lucy went back to bed too.  
  
The next morning at breakfast, everyone asked Annie if she was alright. She said she was and they all went on with their usual morning business of getting ready for school and work. But Eric was the most concerned because Annie had acted strange ever since the nightmare. A few nights later when Eric was working late and Annie was out with a few friends, the phone rang at the Camden household. Mary answered it and found that it was Charles and he needed to talk to Eric. Mary tried paging Eric but he had forgotten his pager so she called his office but couldn't reach him so she made a call.  
  
"Hi Matt, it's Mary. I just got a call from Grandpa and I can't get a hold of dad or mom." Mary says a little worried.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Grandpa said that there is an ex-boyfriend of mom's who got out of prison and is looking for her. He went to Grandpa's to see where he could find her, he assaulted grandpa and he is on his way here. What should I do?" Mary asks a little worried.  
  
"Okay, just lock all the doors, I have the keys to the house, call Sgt. Michaels and I'm on my way there." Matt says then hangs up.  
  
"What's going on?" John asks as he was reading a book on the chair seeing Matt hang up with a worried look.  
  
"Come on, I'll tell you on the way." Matt told John as they rushed to the car while Mary called Sgt. Michaels.  
  
After a few minutes Mary hung up after speaking with Detective Michaels then Lucy happened to come down and noticed Mary had a worried look on her face.  
  
"What's wrong?" Lucy asked as she walked past the table in the kitchen.  
  
"Well, someone from mom's past is coming, he went to grandpa's and hurt him. Grandpa is okay but the guy is on his way here, I just called Matt who is on his way and Sgt. Michaels has his officers on the look out." Mary says as Lucy followed her sister who was locking all doors.  
  
"So what do we do?"  
  
"Just wait for Matt and see what happens." Mary says while walking in the kitchen with Lucy then they both sat down.  
  
Ten minutes later Matt came in with John through the kitchen back door, Lucy and Mary had gotten up from sitting down.  
  
Ten minutes later Matt and John came in though the kitchen door, Mary and Lucy stood up to greet them.  
  
"Gather up all the kids," Matt said then continued, "you're all going over to the Hameltons house. John has his dad's van so you can all ride over with him."  
  
Ruthie walked in and heard them talking about going to the Hamilton's house for the night and asked, "What's wrong?"  
  
Matt didn't want to alarm her so he lied and said they just wanted them to come stay the night with them.  
  
"I want to stay here," Simon said.  
  
"Listen Simon, if you go to my parent's house with your sisters, I'll come back and stay here with Matt. Okay?"  
  
Simon agreed after considering it then Matt and John quickly put the car seats in the van and loaded Sam and David into them. The Camden kids all climbed in and John took them to his house then John came back with a bat from his brother's room. While John was gone, Matt checked the attic and every room in the house for the intruder. He made sure that the doors and windows were locked.  
  
Meanwhile—  
  
"What are you guys going to do while you are waiting?" Keshia asked.  
  
"Just watch TV and hope that Matt and John call." Mary says.  
  
"I really hope your mom doesn't mind us being here and I hope that you and Nigel don't get in any trouble since you've been on restriction." Lucy says.  
  
"Well, this is an emergency call and where else can you guys go if we weren't here?" Keshia asked.  
  
"I'm not sure, but thanks." Simon says.  
  
The twins were sleeping in Morgan's den. Ruthie was asleep on the small couch, and Simon, Mary and Lucy were all on the couch watching TV while Keesha did her homework. Nigel and Lynn were already asleep and didn't even know the Camden kids were in the house. After a while Simon fell asleep and Lucy, Mary and Keesha checked on the twins.  
  
Back at the Camden house hold—  
  
The police still hadn't arrived at the Camden household when Matt hears the door being smashed open in the front. He picks up the phone and calls the police. The police station tells him that they are on the way but there were several bad accidents on the way there.  
  
"Ok but I think someone is here now, and I'm a little scared."  
  
He hears a guys voice screaming Annie's name and Happy barking.  
  
"Shut up!" the guy yells at Happy as he moves on into the house.  
  
Matt watches from around a corner as Happy lunges at the guy and he pistol whips her. She whines and runs with her tail between her legs, behind the couch.  
  
Matt has the bat in his hand and yells out to the guy, "She's not here! And the police are on their way so you should leave!"  
  
The guy follows Matt's voice and approaches where Matt was standing but Matt kneels down and hits the guy in the legs to trip him. The guy gets back up and turns towards Matt, kicks him and ties him with rope he brought with him. He tapes his mouth and puts him on the couch and closes the door as he leaves the living room. Happy is trying to recover from being pistol whipped and Matt rubs his head on her to make her feel better.  
  
Within minutes of Matt being gagged, a car door slams.  
  
Minutes later--  
  
"Mary, Lucy, I'm home. OW!!" Eric says then everything turns black. 


	10. Aftermath

"Where is she!!" Derrick yells out as he puts the rope on him and gags him, then puts him in the closet that held the washer and dryer then closes the door.  
  
"Eric?" A pretend female voice says.  
  
"Come here baby." Derrick says.  
  
"No, you come here." The voice was coming from outside as Derrick walked outside then just as he got to the middle of the backyard.....  
  
"Freeze Police!!" The police with their weapons drawn are there, when he pulls a gun and is about to fire at them, they shoot him.  
  
After a few officers went inside to check the house, John was allowed to go in, when he did he got Eric out of the closet. One of the officers indicates that Happy may need to go to the vet.  
  
"Oh what happened?" Eric asks as he was lying down with an officer kneeling down near him.  
  
"Officer will it be okay if I can use the phone to call my sister?" Matt asked.  
  
"What?" Eric asked incoherently as Annie walks in the door when she was dropped off by her friends after seeing the house on the news.  
  
"Sir, we are waiting for an ambulance to take you to the hospital. You were knocked out and put in a closet. Go ahead and call your sister sir.."  
  
"What is my son talking about?" Eric asks as Annie went to Matt who was in the kitchen.  
  
"Just relax sir, everything is going to be fine."  
  
"Matt, are you alright and did he hurt the kids?" Annie asked worriedly after went in the kitchen then hugged Matt.  
  
"No mom. The kids are fine but grandpa got hurt, he'll be fine but dad may need to go to the hospital." Matt said.  
  
Annie saw Eric laying on the floor with an officer near him at the door to the back yard. She walked over to him and kneeled down. "Oh Eric. I'm so sorry."  
  
Eric who was groggy said, "Hi Julie. What are we doing?" Everyone looked around and realized Eric was incoherent and hallucinating.  
  
"Ma"am'? How did yow did you know Derrick?" The officer had asked Annie.  
  
"He was guy at my college dorm. He assaulted me back when I was in college which I felt really ashamed about and never told my husband about. May I call my father?" Annie says as she got up.  
  
"The man will no longer hurt you. Yes, you may call your father.." The officer said as Annie went to get the phone than sat down as she dialed her father's number.  
  
"It's okay girl. We'll see if we can get you to see a vet." John said as he petted Happy while kneeling down to her.  
  
Annie called her dad as he answered the phone, "Hi, Dad. Are you okay? The kids and I are fine but Eric will have to go to the hospital. I'm glad you are okay." She sat down in a nearby char with tears streaming down her face, "I love you. Bye." Ann hung up the phone and wiped tears from her face as she tried to regain her composure.  
  
The ambulance has arrived, the EMT technicians arrive at the kitchen area.  
  
"Mom, why don't you go with dad and I'll pick up the kids, have Happy taken to the vet by John and we'll go from there." Matt said as Annie walked over to Eric who was loaded on the stretcher, took his keys from his pocket and gave it to Matt. She hugged him then left to be with Eric.  
  
_________________  
  
While later at the Hamiltons'  
  
"Hey." Matt says as he was let in by Patricia who got home no more than ten minutes ago.  
  
"Matt. What happened?" Lucy asked as she got up from the couch as did Mary and Simon came in from checking on the twins who were in Nigel's room sleeping.  
  
"Well, the guy came looking for mom, knocked dad out so when mom got home she went with him to the hospital. He also hurt Happy who was taken to the vet by Sgt. Micheals.  
  
"I want to go be with Happy." Simon says as Ruthie walked in the room.  
  
"What are we doing?"  
  
Matt tells Ruthie as he is kneeling down, "Someone was robbing the house, Happy was trying to defend it and daddy happened to get home when the guy hurt him. They will be okay."  
  
"I want to be with Happy." Ruthie says.  
  
"Okay. You, me and Simon will be at the Vets while Lucy and Matt go see dad, okay?"  
  
"Okay." Simon says.  
  
"Wait, what about Sam and David?" Lucy asked.  
  
"It's okay. You guys go ahead, we will keep an eye on your brothers." Patricia said.  
  
"And you guys can stay over here until you are ready to go home." Morgan said.  
  
"Thanks." Matt says as he smiled then they left to go see Happy and their dad.  
  
------  
  
At the Hospital  
  
He was laying in the bed, with the oxygen tube in his nose, in a hospital gown under the covers with an iv in his wrist. She was sitting near him, hoping he would wake up so she could talk to him but the doctors told her he had a concussion. Eric was pretending to be asleep because he was still angry at Annie for keeping things from him that could have endangered not only her life but his and the lives of their kids.  
  
"Eric, the kids weren't hurt in this and I'm really sorry. I hope you can trust me again after this and I still love you." Annie says with her voice choked up with tears streaming down her cheeks.  
  
"Ma'am, I'm sorry but visiting hours are now over, you can come back tomorrow." The nurse said as she came in.  
  
Annie gave him a kiss then left.  
  
Eric sighs and thinks to himself, "I don't know how I can trust you now. I'm glad the kids are okay but how could you keep this from me!!" 


	11. Forgiven

Annie was just about to get in the elevator when she saw Matt and Lucy. She told them that Eric was okay but they could visit him tomorrow since visiting hours were over. She was grateful of Mary and Matt's quick thinking when her dad called the kids.  
  
They stopped by the vet to see how Happy was, it was getting late and Sion and Ruthie were sleeping in the waiting room. Mary stood up as they came in, "Happy will be okay, they want to keep her over night and we can pick her up tomorrow morning."  
  
"We need to get these two home to bed." Annie said looking at Ruthie and Simon asleep.  
  
They went to see Happy where Simon and Ruthie were asleep with her so they came back the next day and Happy was discharged.  
  
Days later the kids and Annie went back to their home then a day later Eric is allowed to go home; Charles visits the Camdens. The day the Camdens finally went home, Ruthie had requested Simon sleep with her since she still felt scared, she and he slept in Simon's room so Charles had Lucy and Mary's old room. A few days after Eric comes home, Ruthie didn't feel scared but didn't mind sleeping with Simon till Grandpa had left.  
  
"Hey. I'm so glad he didn't kill you." Annie cries on her father when they sat on the couch with the kids at school, twins napping and Eric at work.  
  
"I know. Did you talk to Eric?"  
  
"No. I've tried but I think he's still angry and I don't blame him."  
  
"Well, I'm sure everything will work out." Charles says.  
  
"I hope so daddy, I hate having him so angry at me."  
  
"I know sweetie, I know." Charles said as Annie put her head on his shoulder with his arm around her shoulder.  
  
Dinner time at the Camden home—  
  
"Well, your father will miss dinner again."  
  
"I'm sure he's busy at the church." Charles says as he looked towards Ruthie with his eyes.  
  
"Yeah, you're right Grandpa." Lucy said as they ate while Eric was at the pool hall drinking non alcoholic beer with dinner at the bar.  
  
"Hey, I'll have a Budweiser please." A man said to the bartender who sat next to Eric eating.  
  
"Okay, what's your story? This is the first time you have had non alcoholic beer with burger and fries. I know that this is not like you." Steve, the bartender said as he looked at Eric with his hand resting on the ledge of the bar and his forearm on the ledge as well.  
  
"My wife kept a secret from me, told me that she was okay but I was worried about her because she was worried. The secret was that an old college mate had assaulted her back when she was in college, had escaped. The guy hurt her father and came down here almost killed me and luckily he didn't hurt the kids."  
  
"Ha!! Oh come on!! You crazy wimp!! That's nothing!! That's nothing!!" The man next to him scoffs then he continues as Eric looks at him as did Steve, "well, let me tell you something buster, that's nothing compared to my problem. My soon to be ex-wife was having an affair with another man and he got her pregnant! I told her I wanted a divorce!! And you say you can't trust your wife? You crazy wimp." The man said with annoyance.  
  
"I never thought of that." Eric said quietly, as he finished his bite of the burger as the man paid for the beer and left a tip as he walked to his car.  
  
"He's right you know." Steve says as Eric pays him for the food and beer then Steve goes to help a customer.  
  
Eric then pays the tip then goes to his car and drives home.  
  
After putting the twins down for bed, Annie sees her husband walking in as she walks downstairs through the foyer.  
  
"Hi. We missed you at dinner, what have you been up to the last few nights that you have missed dinner?" Annie tells says then asks him as she approaches him and they both go into their room to talk. Eric closes the door.  
  
"I um already had something to eat. And ate something the last few days I didn't eat here."  
  
"Oh? Where have you gone to?" Annie asked as she and Eric sat on her side of the bed.  
  
"The pool hall just eating and drinking." Annie looks at him with a confused face then asks suspiciously, "Drinking? Beer?"  
  
"Non-alcoholic."  
  
"Well, that's good." Annie says with relief but confused as to what he was doing drinking.  
  
"Look." Eric sighs then begins, "I just wish you had told me what was going on, and trusted me. I feel like you didn't trust me or want my help when you hid this from me. What if he killed your father, huh? What if he came and killed all of us?"  
  
"I know.. I thought about it a lot and you are right I should have trusted you but how can I get you to forgive me. I never thought he would come this far."  
  
"Annie, I forgive you. But you need to trust me, we have 7 kids and been married for 23 years, haven't we?"  
  
"Yes we have. I'm so sorry. What made you forgive me?" Annie smiles as he puts her hands on his face.  
  
"I was talking to a guy who well, felt like I was a wimp. But... I was wondering if we can you know, mess around in the bed, you know, lock the door and....." Eric states.  
  
Few hours later everyone went to bed, Eric and Annie showed their love for each other that night.  
  
The End 


End file.
